Portable sawing machine



Dec. 9, 1930. H. R|CH PORTABLE SAWING MACHINE Filed July 2, 1929 5 Sheets- Sheet l Dec. 9, 1930. H. RlcH PORTABLE SAWING MACHINE Filed July 2, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 31a/vanto @my R110 h4 Patented Dec. 9, 1.930

UNITI-:n STATES PATENT Fries Y HENRY RICH,` or Immo TOWNSHIP, orrnn TAIL COUNTS?, MINNESOTA roR'rABLn SAWING MACHINE Application; mea my 2, 1929. serial No. 375,377.1

This invention relates to improvements in portable sawing machines of the type that are adapted to be readily transported to the place at which the timber to be cut into cord 6 wood lengths, orth'elike, is located.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a sawing machine of the above kind-which is extremely simple in construction, efficient in operation,A and capable of convenientY use and control for expeditiously cutting'logs into sections of the re-V quired length.

, Other objectsfare to provide an improved sawing machine o f the above' kind having means for facilitating feeding of the saw to the work and automatically retracting the saw for' the start of a new cutting operationgsimple and eiicientmeans for. .feedingv the logs'relative to the saw for readily positioning themV foreachnew cut; and simple and efficient means for Vdriving and controlling the saw and the log feeding means.

ther objects will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, andthe same consists in the novel form, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, shown inthe accompanying drawings and claimed.

In the drawings:

the present invention. Y

Figure 2 is a rear elevational view thereof. Figure 3 is a top plan view of the same. y Figure-4 is a side elevational view looking toward the' left of Figure 2 and Vat the reverse side from that shown inFigure l; and A `Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary longi- Figure 4l is a side elevational view of av portable -wood sawing machine embodying.

internal combustion engine forming part of the power plant of a conventional form of motor vehicle which has its axles removed and ismounted upon the front portion of the platform 5 so that its body 9 furnishes a 5s convenient drivers seat for use when transporting the machine from one place to another. -As shown, the automobile body is mounted upon the platform 5 longitudinally of the latter so that the longitudinal propelc4 ler shaft l0 of the automobilev extends rearwardly for connection with the forward end ofa drive shaft 11 alined therewith and having a fly wheel l2 secured thereon for an obvious purpose. The drive shaft l1 has its rear end portion journaled in a pair of spaced bearings 13 secured upon the rear portion of the platform 5, Vand hinged'at one end upon the drive shaft ll-betweenthe bearingsl is a saw frame le' consisting of a pair of .7e spacedparallel bars that extend transversely of the lplatform beyond the opposite side of the latter and have their free ends rigidly connected asi-at l5. `The saw frame le is thus mounted for vertical swinging move 7 ment, and .fixed upon the platform 5 intermediate the ends of the saw frame 14 is an inverted U-shaped guide lpwhose legs are disposed directly at the outer sides of the saw frame 14 to brace the latter against lateral s strains while. permitting free vertical movement thereof. Y t

V; Journaled transversely of the free end of frame l4'and disposed longitudinally of the machineis adrven shaft 17' having al rear projecting enduponwhich is secured a circular saw 18.? A `pulley 19 is fixed upon the driven shaft'l? between'the sidebars of the frame 14,' anda belt 20 passes about the pulley 19 las well asabout a yfurther pulle 2l secured on the drive shaft 11 so that t e rotation ofthe latter will be transmitted to the saw..

The. saw .frame guide 16 is preferably braced' asat 22 in a Asubstantially upright po-l sition vas shownin F igure`2, and is rigidly connected at the top by means'of a horizontal barl23with the upper end portion of-an upright 24"securedto and rising from the platform 5 intermediate tlie legs ofthe guide 16. 10(

Mounted in transverse alinement upon the top of the guide 16 and the upper end of the upright 24 are guide pulleys 25 and 26 over which pass a rope or similar flexible member 27 having one end connected by a tension spring 28 with' the free end of the saw frame 14 and having its opposite end depending from the guide pulley 26 and provided with a suspended weight 29. By these means, the saw frame is normally yieldingly swung upwardly to Van inoperativeposition, and the spring 28 absorbs any shock which may be eX- perienced from sudden falling of the weight when the saw frame is released afterhaving been swung downwardly to cut 'a log. rl`he free end of the saw frame14 may be provided with a laterally projecting handle 30 for facilitating manual downward swinging thereof in feeding the saw to the work.

VMounted longitudinally of and along the side of the platform adjacent thev free end of the saw frame 14 is an endless log-feeding conveyor including a power drivenflexible endless conveying element 31. The conveying element 31 preferably consists of a pair of endless sprocket chains passing around sprocket wheels 32 rfired upon shafts 33 journaled at the ends of the conveyor frame 34, said sprocket chains being connected by a series of transverse boards 35 which are closely related to forma substantially continuous platform on which the logs may be placed. ldler sprockets are also provided as at 36 to support the endless conveying element 31 intermediate the end shafts 33.

lt is to be understood that the logs are adapted to be placed upon the conveyor longitudinally of the latter for being shifted endwiserelative to the saw18 when it is desired to position the log for a new cut at the completion of each cutting operation. To prevent lateral movement of the log off of the conveying element 31,V a guide board 37v is mounted along the adjacent side of the plat- 2 form 5 at the inner side of the conveyor and above the conveying element 31 of the latter.

The rear shaft 33 of the log feeding conveyoris operatively connectedwith thefdrive shaft 11 so as to be driven therefrom, the op-V erative connection including a normally re-v leased clutch whereby the conveyor is normolly thrown out of operation butmanually thrown intooperation when desired. For this purpose, the inner end of the'rear con-V veyor shaft 33 is gearedasat 38 to thelower rear end of a longitudinally disposed inclined counter shaft 39k journaled at the inner side of the rear end portion of the log feeding conveyor and having its forward upper end geared as at 40 to the adjacent end of a transverse shaft 41 journaled upon the platform 5; The shaft 41 is alined with a further sliaft carrying the male member of a clutch 42 and coupled to said shaft 41 by means ofA a universal joint or flexible shaft coupling 43. A still further shaft 44 is alined with the shaft carrying the male member of the clutch 42, and this shaft 44 carries the female member of the clutch 42 and has one end operatively geared as at 45 with the drive shaft 11. The clutch 42 may be of any well known spring released type by means of which the connection between drive shaft 11 and the conveyor shaft 33 is normally broken so as to allow the conveying element 31 to remain at a standstill. -However, manually operable means 1s provided for engaging the Vclutch 42 so as to cause the conveying element 3l to be drivenin the direction of the arrow of Figures '1 andV 3, when desired. This means preferably consists of an angular hand lever 46 pivoted at its f lower end upon the inner side of the conveyor frame 34 as shown in Figure 5 and operatively connected by means of a link 47 lwith the shifting collar of the male member of clutch 42 in a more or less conventional .and well known manner as upon the conveying element13 parallel with the direction of movement of therlatter, the vhand lever 46jniay bei operated to engage clutch 42 and transmit power from sha-ft 11 to the rear conveyor shaft 33. This will result in shifting of the log rearwardly until a desired portion of the same projects rearwardly of the saw 18. This projecting part of the log is then severed from the rest of the log by swinging the saw frame 14 downwardly as the saw 18 is driven from shaft 11 through the belt drive connection described. .At the completion of the cut, the saw frame 14 is released and it is thenautomatically elevated to aninoperative position by means ofthe weight and cord 29, 27 It will of course be understood that the log is brought toa rest when fed rearwardlythe required distance by throwing the conveying element 31 .out of operation, the latter being effected by per.

mitting the clutch -42 to release whenthe lever 46 is released'by the attendant. At the completion of each cut, the log is fed rearwardly to position it for a new cnt, and it will thusbe apparent that the onlyv manual effort required is to place. the log upon Lthe conveyor and to engage clutch 42 or swing the saw 18 downwardly so` as to .feed it to the work. f

From the above description it will be seen that the present sawing machine can be advantageously utilized by farmers and the like in cutting cord wood. It will also be seen that the several parts are readily accessible for inspection and repair, while the construction of the machine is extremely cheap and permits its practical use without skilledv labor.

Minor changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

lVhat I claim as new is:

l. In a portable sawing machine, a platform having an endless log feeding conveyor along one side thereof, a motor mounted on said platform and having a rearwardly projecting drive shaft, a vertically swinging saw.

frame pivoted upon the rear portion of said drive shaft and extending transversely of the platform over the rear end of said conveyor, a saw carrying shaft journaled on the free end of said saw frame, a guide for the frame and means for bracing the frame against lateral movement,means to operatively connect said saw carrying shaft to said drive shaft, and means operatively connecting said conveyor to said drive shaft, said last named means embodying a normally released clutch' for maintaining the conveyor out of operation and having manually operable means for engaging the same to throw the conveyor into operation. y

2. In a portable sawing machine, a plat-- form, a motor mounted upon the forward end of said platform adjacent one side thereof and having a rearwardly projecting drive shaft, log supporting means at the opposite sido of said platform, a vertically swinging lsaw frame pivoted upon the rear portion of said drive shaft and extending transversely of the platform to a point above the log su porting means, a saw carrying shaft at t e free end of said saw frame, a guide for the frame and means for bracing the frame against lateral movement, means to operatively connect said saw carrying shaft to said drive shaft, yieldable means to normally swing said saw frame upwardly to an inoperative position, said log supporting means embodyino` an endless conveyor arranged to shift the logs rearwardly in position for being cut when the saw frame is lowered, and releasable driving connections between the conveyor and said drive shaft embodying a clutch having an operating lever accessible by an attendant standing beside the conveyor and adjacent the saw.

in testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HENRY RICH. 

